Born a Crime

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
On Sale November 15, 2016 by Spiegel & Grau
Rating: ★★★★

Trevor Noah was the only white kid in the black neighborhood, the only black kid in the white neighborhood, and the only mixed-race kid in the colored neighborhood. He didn't always know where he fit in, but he always knew who he was.

Noah was born in South Africa while it was still under the system of apartheid. He is the product of a black woman from the Xhosa tribe and a white Swiss father, who broke the racial purity laws that could have landed them in jail for several years if their "crime" of having a son together were ever discovered. Noah spent the first couple years of his life hiding indoors, his family not wanting to attract too much attention or have people asking questions. 

More than anything, this book is a coming of age story, set on a backdrop of insane social and political injustice. The star of the story is not the author himself, but his mother-- a no-nonsense and deeply religious woman who was determined to raise her son to be able to withstand the harsh treatment he'd get from the world.

I'm going to be honest: I didn't think this book was all that funny. That didn't surprise me, because I don't find Noah funny on The Daily Show. That said, this book contains occasional gems like this:

"But the more we went to church and the longer I sat in those pews the more I learned about how Christianity works: If you're a Native American and you pray to the wolves, you're a savage. If you're African and you pray to your ancestors, you're a savage. But when white people pray to a guy who turns water to wine, well, that's just common sense."

However, I really did enjoy his insider view of apartheid and the transition years right afterward. It's the larger perspective that earns this book my recommendation.